Washington DC honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day amid tense political climate

(19 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 19 January 2026
1. Various, parade participants performing along route
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mayor Muriel Bowser, (D) Washington:
“We are so happy to be here to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and the challenge he left us.”
3. Various, parade participants performing and marching along route
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Regan Durkin, parade participant:
“It's a very meaningful time. This community and Ward 8 and Ward 7 (in Washington, D.C.), they represent everything that MLK represented and even died for. And so it's really important to us to support that and to bring youth out because that would be a part of MLK's dream, right? To have youth to still walk for peace and to live for peace.”
5. Various, marching band
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Harold Hunter, parade volunteer:
“Today is a really, really chilly and very warm day for each one of us who believe in Martin Luther King's dream. He believed that we have three evils. One is racism, exploitation, and militarism. And as you see today with this threat of what we're having now, that we still have to fight for the Voting Rights Act and fight for so much economic parity.”
7. Various, parade participants performing and marching along route
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Harold Hunter, parade volunteer:
“I want the record to show that the young kids have to understand how it started, because if you understand that Martin Luther King is just a normal person, but they would give presidents a holiday like this, so it took us relatively eight years to make it a holiday. Year in and year out, we would put it into Congress to vote to have us to have a day, and it was voted down, so we had to ask Stevie Wonder to write a song of happy birthday to you.”
9. Various, parade participants performing and marching along route
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Harold Hunter, parade volunteer:
“The young people have to understand that we have to keep this movement going. We're passing the torch to them. You see what happened in Minneapolis? An innocent person was gunned down because of ICE. And now we have the young people to stand together in love and peace and harmony."
11. Various, of MLK day parade signage
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Angel Harlins, parade participant:
“Always reminded of Martin Luther King and just like his heart to really unite all people of different races, colors, ethnicities, religions, and like seeing that it's actually happening in the D.C. area, like the nation's capital, is something that is very, very near and dear to my heart.”
13. Various, of MLK day parade signage

STORYLINE:
As communities across the country on Monday hosted parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon's legacy.

In Washington, the annual parade was held featuring local organizations including some chanting "Free DC" which has become the rallying cry against President Donald Trump's federal takeover of the nation's capital.

The parade took place a year since Donald Trump's second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has adopted a scorched earth stance against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many King admirers have criticized.


AP video by River Zhang

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